General Curriculum – Mathematics Test [MTEL]

Key Vocabulary Terms

Absolute Value – the distance of a number from zero. Always expressed as a positive number [e.g. the absolute
value of -5 is 5 and of 11 is 11. Expressed with vertical lines on each side of the number

Acute Angle – An angle that measures less than 90 degrees not more than 0 degrees

Area – the total number of square units inside a given 2-dimensional figure

Chord – a line segment that begins at one point on a circle and ends at another (but it may or may not go
through the center)

Circumference – the distance around a circle (perimeter of a circle is = pi x the diameter of the circle expressed
as πd or as 2πr where r = the radius of the circle since 2r is the same as d)

Complementary Angles – Angles that add up to 90 degrees

Congruent – Polygons that are congruent have the same size AND shape [all the sides and angles of the shapes
are equal]

Coordinate Plane – [X-axis and Y-axis] – show relationship of two variables with a horizontal number line and
a vertical number line

Diameter and Radius – Diameter is the distance across a circle going through the center of the circle. Radius is
1/2 the distance of the diameter since it is the distance from the center to the outside edge of a circle.

Dividend – a number that is being divided in a division problem (e.g. 20 / 5 = 4; 20 is the dividend)

Divisor – using example above, 5 is the divisor

Divisible – a number is divisible by another number if there is no remainder when dividing by that factor [e.g.
30 is divisible by 3, 5 and 6 but is not divisible by 8]

Equilateral – a shape whose sides are of equal length

Expanded form – 562 when expanded is 500 + 60 + 2

Factor – An integer that divides evenly into a number without any remainder [e.g. 5 is a factor of 15, 20, and
55]

Greatest Common Factor [GCF] – the largest factor that two numbers share [ex. GCF of 12 and 18 is 6]

Improper Fraction – a fraction with the numerator larger than the denominator [e.g. 12/5]

Integers – Negative numbers, positive numbers, and zero [hint: any number than MUST be expressed as a
fraction or a decimal is not an integer; An integer IS -3, 1, 0, 22, and -16]

Irrational Numbers – A number that CANNOT be expressed as a fraction, such as pi or the square root of 2

Isosceles Triangle – Has TWO sides that are equal (not all three sides); also has TWO equal angles

Least Common Multiple – the lowest common multiple of two or more numbers other than zero [example:
Multiples of 3 are 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18; multiples of 5 are 5, 10, 15, 20, 25; LCM of 3 and 5 is 15]
Least Common Denominator is the LCM of all the denominators in an addition or subtraction problem with
fractions

Mean – the average of a set of numbers [found by adding the numbers and dividing by the “number of
members” in the set] ex. Average of 2, 5, 6, 9, and 13 is (2 + 5 + 6 + 9 + 13) / 5 = 7

Median – the middle number in a set of numbers. Using the example above, it would be 6. If you added
another 7 to the set, then the median would be (6 + 7)/ 2 = 6.5 or 6 1/2

Mode – the number or data that occurs most frequently in a set. For example, in a set of numbers such as 2, 5,
8, 9, 9, 11, 13, 16, 16 – the mode is both 9 and 16. If you had another 9 in the set, the mode would only be 9.

Mixed Number – A number that contains a whole number and a fraction. (e.g. 4 1/3 is a mixed number)

Natural Numbers – the same as Counting Numbers – all positive numbers such as 1, 2, 3, 4, …..127

Numerator – the top number in a fraction. It is the number of parts in the whole

Obtuse Angle – an angle that measures greater than 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees

Order of Operations – PEMDAS – Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication & Division (left-to-right: does not
matter if multiplication or division done first as they are the same value), Addition & Subtraction (left-to-right
as well: addition and subtraction are the same value)

Parallel Lines – Lines that will NOT intersect; maintain the same distance apart

Perimeter – the distance around the edge of an object

Perpendicular Lines – Lines that intersect to form a 90-degree angle (right angle)

Pi or π : the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Usually expressed as 3.14

Prime Number – a number whose only factors are one and itself (ex. 2, 3, 7, 19…etc.)

Pythagorean Theorem – Relationship among the three sides of a right triangle a2 = b2 + c2

Quadrant – the four areas in a coordinate plane (positive x and positive y are quadrant 1, then counted as you
move counterclockwise around the other quadrants (1, 2, 3, and 4)

Range – Maximum value of a y-variable or set of numbers minus minimum value of a y-variable or set of
numbers

Ratio – Comparison of one expression to another. Example Ratio of 1:5 would let you determine that the value
of ?? in the expression 4: ?? is 20 because 4 x 5 = 20

Rational Numbers – Any number that can be expressed as a fraction including decimals that end OR repeat

Real Numbers – ALL Rational AND Irrational numbers (see above)

Reflection – A transformation that involves flipping an object around a designated axis to create mirror image
of the object

Rotation – A transformation that involves TURNING an object around a pivot point

Scalene Triangle – a triangle with no equal sides or angles

Scientific Notation – A way to write numbers with a given number between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of
10 (or 10 with a given exponent)

Similar – [See CONGRUENT as these terms are often confused] – With SIMILAR figures, they are exactly the
same shape, but they are a different size – either scaled down smaller or scaled larger. These shapes MAY also
be rotated or reflected which makes it difficult at times to determine if a shape is similar to another shape

Slope – the change in vertical “height” [y-coordinate value] divided by the change in horizontal “distance” [the
x-coordinate]. Often referred to as rise over run since it is expressed rise / run.

Supplementary Angles – Angles that add up to 180 degrees

Surface Area - The sum of the areas on all surfaces (or faces) of a given object

Tangent – a line on the outside of a circle that touches only one point of the circle

Volume – the number of cubic units that fill the space in a given object

Whole Numbers – 0, 1, 2, 3….6….12; includes zero and counting numbers

Y-Intercept – the point at which a line intersects the y-axis (x would have a value of 0) ex. (0, -3), the y-
intercept would be -3

Properties of Numbers

Associative – works for addition and multiplication. Basically states that it does not matter which numbers you
group together (or which numbers they ASSOCIATE with), the result will be the same. Example (2 + 6) + 9 = 2
+ (6 + 9); or (4 x 7) x 11 = 4 x (7 x 11)

Commutative – works for addition and multiplication. States that it does not matter the ORDER that the
numbers are written. Ex. 4 + 56 + 8 = 8 + 4 + 56; or 2 x 7 x 30 = 30 x 2 x 7. Remember is does not matter if
you count your miles commuting from home to work or from work to home. They are the same distance.

Distributive – A great property for breaking down numbers into workable parts – indicates the way in which
multiplication is applied to the addition of two or more numbers. Example 5(6 + 11) = 5(6) + 5(11) = 30 + 55
You can use this when you want to multiply larger numbers because 32 x 8 is the same as 30 x 8 plus 2 x 8 or =
240 + 16 = 256.

Identity – Identity property of addition is if you add zero (0) to any number, you get the same number; for
multiplication, it is if you multiply any number times one (1), you get the same number.
Key Concepts for Number Sense

Fractions, Decimals, and Percents:

Numbers and Operations:

Key Concepts for Geometry

Key Concepts for Measurement

Key Concepts for Data Analysis, Statistics & Probability

Key Concepts for Patterns and Functions

Key Concepts for Algebra – (Beyond what is covered above)